BOLDFACE

By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON

Published: March 22, 2006

The balcony of the Hammerstein Ballroom, the site of Monday night's ''Bring 'Em Home Now!'' concert, was the V.I.P. section.

The concert was a benefit for groups like Iraq Veterans Against the War, Veterans for Peace and Gold Star Families for Peace and kicked off a national antiwar tour.

Air America had a little broadcasting table set up next to the concession stand where the performers would stop by throughout the night to do interviews.

The civilians, who paid extra for V.I.P. seats, could then talk to them, look at them and take their pictures.

Before the concert began, CINDY SHEEHAN, the only Boldface name to be seen, was more or less unbothered. That is not because this crowd, politically aware and attuned to the uses and abuses of power, was immune to the pleasures of star gawking.

No, all MIKE MYERS had to do was stand in line for a Coke to be giddily mobbed. The Air America people even persuaded him to read some station identification announcements.

SUSAN SARANDON's appearance packed the area; this was compounded by the fact that PEACHES was arriving at the same time.

But Ms. Sheehan did not stand out. Not here and not earlier, a few minutes before DMC, STEVE EARLE, CONOR OBERST, DEVENDRA BANHART and MICHAEL STIPE came out for a photo op in a packed and noisy press room in the basement.

As she waited for the photo op, Ms. Sheehan, wearing a brown pullover over a T-shirt, a poofy brown skirt and brown and gold flats, sat on the steps and chatted with people.

She was stepped over by frantic organizers and one woman in purple fishnet stockings and a flag bikini whom we would later see onstage during the FISCHERSPOONER set.

Ms. Sheehan did not want to talk in the V.I.P. room either, saying that the idea was to talk with regular people.

And as her onstage speech would later show, she hardly loved dealing with journalists, particularly a ''despicable right-wing journalist from Fox News'' who had asked her earlier that day why her son did not have a tombstone.

This one elicited quite a response from the audience.

But she did grant us a few minutes, after asking an organizer to get her a beer. We began by asking her whether she had been a follower of these bands before her involvement in the protest movement.

''I went to a lot of concerts from the time I was a teenager,'' she said. ''You know, a couple weeks ago I met JACKSON BROWNE, who is my lifelong favorite, and that was great.'' Then she added, without changing her tone of voice at all: ''I always have this feeling that it's really cool, but I wouldn't be doing it if my son wasn't dead. That kind of always puts a little damper on things.''

And now you are being portrayed by Ms. Sarandon in a movie. What's your take on that?

''The only reason I would want the story to be told would be another antiwar tool.''

We touched briefly on policy, the debate over a withdrawal timetable, the prospect of civil war. But her opinions there are well established. Does this ever get exhausting?

''I don't get exhausted. The only time I've had to take any time off is when the N.Y.P.D. hurt me and I had to take about a week off. I don't get tired and I have enormous amounts of energy because I'm on the right path.''

Then she had to do another interview.

So we mingled, talked to CHUCK D about the state of hip-hop and how FLAVOR FLAV has to do his own thing. And to WARREN FISCHER of Fischerspooner, who had obviously put a lot of thought into the perils of becoming a Music Group With a Cause. As he spoke, CASEY SPOONER, wearing a glitzy drum major uniform, eyes lined with kohl, leaned against the wall, smiling vaguely.

Mr. Spooner did say that his father called him up earlier to talk about the protest concert.